Fake news means news that has been invented.

Fake news refers to false stories that appear to be news, but are often completely phony.

One of the most famous fake news stories was that Pope Francis supported Donald Trump when he was running for President of the United States.

Another example is a video of Miami airport, completely flooded after the passage of hurricane Irma.

In fact, it’s a video of a man walking knee deep in water but the airport was really… in Mexico!

Fake news has always existed: 80 years ago, an actor caused panic in America by announcing a Martian invasion on the radio.

But today, fake news has a lot of impact because of the popularity of social media.

On social media, anyone can post news without having to check it first.

However, to be a free and responsible citizen, everyone should check their sources, whether on the Internet or other media.

Many newspapers have started decoding fake news.

Teachers are introducing courses about the media to develop students’ critical thinking.

For example, they study photos to see whether they have been ‘Photoshopped’.

Rather than just blindly believing a news story, from now on we have to be more careful.